Retail Profiles
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Even in tough economy, bridal still booming
By Michelle Graff
April 22, 2009
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| Jewelers are using a creative range of tactics, from witty ads to a perfect proposal contest, to attract young bridal customers. |
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American couples might be trading down slightly when it comes to carat size, but even in this tough economy, they are still buying diamond engagement rings.
But how can jewelers take advantage of the recession-proof business that is bridal? From witty ads to a "perfect proposal" contest, customers fall for innovation, jewelers say.
One example is the "I Hate Steven Singer" advertising campaign, which goes for laughs with its portrayal of a groom-to-be's transformation from the carefree guy who knocks back beers with buddies after 5:00 p.m. to the married man who knocks out chores at home, under his jewelry-loving wife's watchful eye.
From tagline-touting billboards to hip radio ads, the campaign (as seen on IHateStevenSinger.com) has helped Steven Singer Jewelers in Philadelphia keep a finger on the pulse of young bridal customers.
So once the recession hit, storeowner Steven Singer noticed pretty quickly that the lower-end and mid-market bridal customers were downsizing from one-carat diamonds to 0.75-carat stones for their engagement rings.
But, Singer also noticed those customers were not willing to compromise on other aspects of the purchase, such as cut, color or clarity. And, more importantly, they are not letting the grim economic outlook stop the ceremony altogether.
"Those people will still want what they want," Singer says. "People are going to slightly smaller sizes but staying with the same quality."
While the news might be rife with reports of layoffs amid a lackluster economy, retail jewelers across the country who spoke to National Jeweler agreed that couples aren't likely to let the economy crash their wedding, even if they have to hire a family friend to shoot video of the ceremony, or downsize the center stone on their engagement ring.
Whatever size is selling these days--whether it be a small three-quarter-carat sparkler or a 5-carat rock--retailers say there are two key ways to keep engagement ring sales on target in a turbulent year: partnering with other bridal-focused businesses to offer special promotions and keeping up the tradition of top-notch customer service.
After all, when a couple decides to spend their lives together and start planning a wedding, the goal is to make it the event of a lifetime, whether it happens in the midst of an economic crisis or not.
"I know that for people that are in love and want to get engaged and want to get married, it's supposed to be a one-time experience," Singer says. "It's not the area where they really want to cut back."
Reaching across the aisle
When Oklahoma City jeweler and designer Valerie Naifeh opened her store's bridal bar six years ago, sales were slow.
"I very naively thought, 'If you build it, they will come,'" she says.
While the "Field of Dreams" philosophy didn't quite click for her bridal bar, Naifeh decided that instead of just letting it die, she would help the concept along with some unique marketing.
Three years ago, Naifeh says, she launched Naifeh Fine Jewelry's "A Perfect Proposal" contest.
The contest, open to all Oklahoma residents, offers a $5,000 prize package to applicants in two categories--married couples and engaged couples--that includes services and products from other local businesses, including a limousine company, a steakhouse and a photographer.
The partnerships were easy to come by for Naifeh, who used personal connections forged through her membership in the Society of Edmond Wedding Professionals, a group of bridal businesses that pay yearly dues to swap referrals. Those businesses helped her orchestrate the contest's prize packages.
"Most of it's just picking up the phone," Naifeh says. "They want the exposure, and it just doesn't cost them much."
Naifeh accepts entries both online and in person, and her staff narrows the stack of entry forms down to five finalists.
The next smart move involves making the contest interactive: Naifeh posts the five finalists' stories on her Web site and allows the public to pick the winner.
Facilitating online voting is not only convenient--it also drives Web traffic, which, in turn, piques interest in Naifeh's store, including her burgeoning bridal business.
Last year, Naifeh tracked more than 11,000 page impressions on her Web site in the four-day voting period, "which, for us, is huge," she says.
The wildly popular contest--which also spurred a partnership between Naifeh's store and Brides of Oklahoma magazine--has turned out to be a perfect way to raise the profile of Naifeh's bridal business.
"We have seen, over the last three years, a steady increase in the engagement ring sales we've had," she says, noting that the segment now accounts for 30 percent of her business, up from just 5 percent.
Martini buzz
In Wilmington, Del., Carl Doubet Jewelers is cutting back on more traditional (read: costly) types of advertising in favor of partnering with local businesses to get the town buzzing about the store, says Carl Doubet Hendry, the retailer's director of inspiration.
His aim for 2009: to drive up the bridal business, which now accounts for about 50 percent of sales, simply by getting more local residents talking.
"The whole goal for this year, our personal path for 2009, is word-of-mouth advertising," he says. "Our target for this year is going to be engagement sales. Engagement sales are something that's continuous. You can't really apologize to your fiancee that you can't get engaged because the stock market's down."
Earlier this year, Hendry was working with several area restaurants to offer the "Doubet Diamondtini," a version of the classic cocktail served in a glass that he designed and handcrafted himself. To keep the retailer top of mind, the glass is branded with the Carl Doubet Jewelers name.
While details, including cost, were still being ironed out at press time, Hendry says the main goal of the "Diamondtini" is to not let area residents forget about the store.
"I need Doubet Jewelers to be thought of in [situations like], 'I haven't been there in a while, I need to see what's new and exciting,' or 'I need a special gift,'" he says.
This something new--the buzz--combined with something old--the fourth-generation family-owned store's reputation--should be enough to make it a good year at Carl Doubet Jewelers.
"I think we're going to have a good year in engagement and bridal sales," Hendry says. "I think it's going to be consistent and, if you can offer a great product with great service behind it, that's what's going to help companies out."
Service with more than a smile
Great customer service is especially important with the engagement ring sale, when retailers have the potential to net lifelong customers and convince those customers to refer all of their soon-to-be-engaged friends.
"I am very, very fierce about customer service," Naifeh says. "We give unbelievable customer service."
For the majority of men, a diamond engagement ring is the first serious piece of jewelry they purchase and, just as they do with other big-ticket items, like cars and plasma TVs, they lean on their friends for advice on the best deal, she says.
Naifeh estimates that some 60 percent to 70 percent of her diamond engagement ring business is the result of referrals.
"We know the referral counts for a lot," she says. "It really carries a lot of weight."
Michelle Fusaro of Bella Jewelers in New Milford, Conn., says the bulk of the store's engagement ring sales, which comprise 50 percent of the business, are the result of referrals.
"It's one happy bridal customer that just tells another person who's getting engaged, 'This is a place you have to go,'" Fusaro says. "A happy customer is your best advertisement."
This word-of-mouth, combined with a diamond-heavy billboard advertising campaign, has proven effective for Bella Jewelers.
Fusaro says the store, which does a strong custom business, had a record year in 2008 due to strong bridal sales, innovative designs and the store's reputation in its community.
For Michael C. Fina, a high-end retailer in New York, bridal accounts for 70 percent of business at the store, which recently expanded its bridal area from 300 square feet to about 2,000 square feet, says Steven Fina, president of retail.
The store's wide selection of bridal brands and the "trust factor" it has established among New Yorkers after 75 years in the business, drives the store's popularity among grooms-to-be.
"There is no one else in New York who does what we do," Fina says. "What brings our customer in...what they buy from us, every woman in New York isn't going to have it."
And, once they buy in, the store's sales associates will go to extreme lengths to ensure those customers are satisfied.
Fina says 90 percent of his sales associates are equipped with a BlackBerry so they are available to customers at all times, even if those customers are out of the country.
Fina recounts a time when a sales associate took a call on his BlackBerry from a newly engaged couple in Mexico, where the heat caused a tight-fitting ring to become impossible to remove.
The associate stayed on the line with the customer until they came up with the right mix of lubricants to help the bride-to-be slide the ring off.
Fina says he'll receive expense reports from associates who have had dinner or drinks with clients in an effort to build relationships.
Sales associates at Michael C. Fina also will go so far as to attend brides' dress fittings to ensure their wedding-day jewelry complements the dress of their dreams.
"You name it, we've done it," Fina says. "In this day and age, it's the little things that make the difference. Whatever we can for those customers, we're going to do it for them. We never, ever like to say the word 'no.'"
Cash registers are ringing...
Here's a quick look at some facts and figures pertaining to the U.S. bridal market.
--On average, the total carat weight of a diamond engagement ring in the United States is 0.9 carats, normally consisting of a 0.5-carat center stone surrounded by smaller diamonds.
--The median age is 25 for first-time brides and 27 for grooms-to-be.
--The average U.S. wedding budget is $27,882, not including the honeymoon. The bulk of that money is used for the reception venue.
--Brides spend an average of $1,317 on their wedding gowns, with New York brides spending the most money on their gowns--$2,206--on average.
--The guest list for the average wedding is 153 people, and Wisconsin brides have the biggest weddings in the United States, with an average guest list of 189.
--An average of 7,000 couples marry in the United States each day.
Source: Staff research, Diamond Promotion Service, TheKnot.com
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